The Quick And Dirty on The Syndrome Everyone Has
Sister, can I vent for a moment?
After 20+ years of coaching, nothing pisses me off more than when I see brilliant women playing small, feeling unsatisfied, and seriously doubting themselves.
They have incredible intelligence and skills that would BLOW. YOUR. MIND. They are known for achieving big things: launching companies, starting nonprofits, managing large teams, writing books (these are HUGE THINGS!). Yet, they can’t see their own greatness. Their own genius. Their own contribution to their company/organization, or their industry, or their team.
Let’s pause here for a second.
Did any of that resonate with you? (Yes, YOU. The seriously badass woman reading this post.) If your ears just perked up (even a little) like a Labrador ready to chase Mrs. Jones’ cat up that tree again, I want you to really pay attention. Chances are you are one of these women I’m talking about and don’t know it YET.
Because here’s the other thing I’ve realized after 20+ years of coaching: most of my clients suffer from Imposter Syndrome. Worse than that, a lot of them have never even heard the term, haven’t realized what they are suffering from (limiting beliefs, self-doubt, fear of being caught as a ‘fraud’) are its main symptoms. They don’t recognize how many others around them also have some form of it… which is everyone around them, by the way. (Yeah, because we ALL suffer from Imposter Syndrome in some way, shape, or form.)
Oh, and I should mention here, we also don’t talk about it. (Which is why we don’t know how many of us suffer from it).
I’m going to assume that you are someone who hasn’t heard of Imposter Syndrome and give you the dirt on this little a-hole. (Want the entire lowdown instead of this bite-sized chunk, I’ve got the full workup all ready for you over here or here.)
SO WHAT IS IMPOSTER SYNDROME …
Apart from a gigantic pain in the ass that is keeping you from your full leadership potential and impact or reaching your ultimate level of success, Imposter Syndrome is a mentality, a belief system, a pattern of self-doubting thoughts. Imposter Syndrome whispers spiteful, diminishing commentary. Those thoughts that keep you from stepping up, leaning in, and claiming your power in life and business (and in world domination … complete with maniacal laughter. Kidding, not kidding.). Want the more clinical definition of Imposter Syndrome? You can read that here but it’s not as entertaining.
YOU MIGHT HAVE IMPOSTER SYNDROME IF...
You're breathing and you identify as human.
No, seriously.
Studies have now shown that Imposter Syndrome exists across all the lines: gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. I know that to be true because I’ve seen it in my coaching experience. College student or CEO, everyone I have ever met — myself included — have at one time or another sabotaged their greatness, thrown a wrench in the works, or downright avoided taking the first step because Imposter Syndrome was driving the bus.
Beyond being a human, you may have Imposter Syndrome if you suffer from feelings of inadequacy which may sound like:
“This has got to go perfectly!”
“I’m no expert.”
“This time for sure they’ll find out I don’t know what I’m doing.
Those feelings of inadequacy set up a prevailing belief system that limits people. That limiting belief system then translates into behaviors.
So, you might also have Imposter Syndrome if you act like you have it. We show up as the imposter in the ways we behave, in the ways our energy shapes and shifts our actions.
For example, if we never feel we meet our expectations, never celebrate our accomplishments (because we can pinpoint one little thing we should have done better), or never delegate because we believe it’s just better to do it ourselves, then that is our Imposter Syndrome at work. Every one of those actions is visible to the people around us. While we didn’t exactly introduce ourselves as “Hi, I’m Jen and everything I do has to be perfect,” we say plenty about it through our behaviors.
Those behaviors are also indicative of the type of Imposter Syndrome you have because there are five types and we each have our own flavor. I’m not going into that now because this is supposed to be the cliff notes version, but if you’re interested in identifying what type you’re most like, you can take this quiz.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU DO?
The first place to start is acknowledging you have Imposter Syndrome. The next step is identifying what type of Imposter Syndrome you have and how you came by it (not the nature part but the nurture part). Start by taking my quiz.
After a clear understanding of your type of Imposter Syndrome, you’ll need to develop a personalized roadmap to managing it. You’ll need a particular Coach for that. (One that is REALLY into this stuff. Knows a lot. Has a good sense of humor...I’ve got someone in mind. *wink.)
Look, I’m not just saying you need me because I’m self-promoting. I am saying it because I know I’ve got something other coaches don’t. I’ve got a way to get to the bottom of what’s causing your Imposter Syndrome in the first place. It’s called your “originating incident.” Mine happened on the playground when I was seven. It involved a boy. That’s all I’m going to say right now. You want the rest of the story you’re going to have to keep reading my blog posts until I reveal it.
The main thing is other coaches offer tips and tricks on managing your self-doubt FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Would you rather do that or identify the brain pattern, disrupt it, and create a new neural pathway that truly represents who you are in just 3 coaching sessions?. See? I thought so. You have to know your source (your originating incident) to truly work out your personalized roadmap for managing it. You can’t do that alone and a lot of other coaches can’t either.
Bottom line: it’s time to limit your Imposter Syndrome’s impact on your life and leadership. You’ve got a world to dominate. So what’s your next move gonna be?
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Follow me here or connect with me here or on my blog to get more on Imposter Syndrome. Or enroll in my course, “What if Imposter Syndrome is Really Your Superpower?” Really, the most important thing is for you to take the quiz.